Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to health care technology and, in particular, to methods and apparati for promoting hand sanitization via handles.
Description of the Related Art
Prevention of harmful diseases is a major concern for governments as well as various enterprises, such as companies, corporations, multi-national corporations, and other institutions in which many people are present. In particular, health care facilities, such as hospitals, will be overrun with patients during epidemics. Furthermore, the available medical professional force will be strained and, moreover, infections may be spread by medical personnel and visitors in these very health care facilities. In order to ensure a productive work and living environment, various enterprises and governments use various health care technologies, such as sanitizer fluids, to stop the spread of pathogens that cause the harmful diseases, although past attempts at solving the spread of infectious diseases have been limited. Similarly, medics and health workers have struggled to obtain exact and timely information pertaining to rates of hand sanitization in different areas of the hospital. This information assists health workers in targeting interventions.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for dispensing sanitizer fluid via handles, such as handles attached to doors attached to medical equipment, such as ovens, autoclaves, refrigerators, and the like, as well as doors for access to, for example, operating rooms, delivery rooms, patient examination rooms, restrooms, and the like, that prevents nosocomial infections as well as infections occurring at schools, universities, corporations, stores, and the like, and, additionally provides feedback on usage of hand sanitizer and/or is designed so that the dispensation of sanitizer fluid does not spill onto the floor but instead into the palm of the hand and/or is easy to use and apply but, if required, the user can bypass its use when, for example, opening a door.